Philippine Azkals: The Captain

(c) Joseph Tagle

Ah, yes. It's El Capitan. It's that man named Alexander Charles "Aly" Borromeo. We all know him as the captain of the Philippine national football team, the Azkals. Many know him as that six-foot-one-inch, 190-pound behemoth who leads the defense. Many know him as that man who has a don't-mess-with-me look that has infused with a spark of spunk and swag. A lot of people know him as the man with all the aggressive demeanor but topped with a handsome look (and an intriguing accent) that has caught many fans dead speechless. (Blame him being born in San Francisco, CA, and having a Spanish mestizo lineage.) A few have seen for themselves his buffed physique that has graced fans' eyes either through meeting him personally (shirtless or whatnot), or through the numerous endorsements that has garnered criticism from conservatives.

Yes, it is El Capitan Aly Borromeo. The captain we come to know and love.

Every time he is there, the style of play becomes a very exciting one, a very energetic one. The complexion of the fixture becomes interesting and sometimes, nerve-wracking. After all, he leads his fellows on the pitch, and he needs everything in order. He wants his fellow warriors to be prepared for the unexpected thing their opponents would do to them.

(c) Fiel Efenio

For me, a captain is a mediator, a bridge that should connect the gaps between every person he involves with. As said by the skipper himself, he establishes communication between the locally-bred players and the so-called "Fil-foreign" players. He talks to the coach, the manager, and all the staff of the national team and his club. Born in the States yet has spent most of his life here in the Philippines (he can speak Tagalog well, albeit the accent), that should be his asset there.

Leading a team was no joke for him. He had been through the teams lowest times, including those double-digit slaughters by Southeast Asian neighbours a few years back. He would have given up this footballing thing and take up basketball and play for the PBA and the Smart Gilas national team. But he didn't give up. He committed to don the flag for football no matter what. And now, he is reaping the perks of the teams' highest times. And it was overwhelming.

It made him cry. For a man who wears his emotions on his sleeve.

Fans now love Aly to pieces after that fairy tale journey at the 2010 Suzuki Cup. A lot of fans, mostly the females, would love his face and physique before his kind of football. But for me, hardcore fans and football purists, we love his dedication to the country, his passion for football, his love for the Filipino people. Inspite of all the criticisms, he stays firm to his being Pinoy.

But what if El Capitan wasn't there?

During the World Cup Qualifiers, where he served a one-fixture suspension for being booked twice, all for defensive over-enthusiasm, the feel of the match quickly became turbulent. No-one came to the rescue at keeping the defense steady. No-one kept the complexion to a calm. At that cauldron that was Kuwait, Aly felt he wanted to get off the sidelines and be an emotional prowess for his suffering brethren.

And when he finally got on the pitch at the Rizal Memorial Stadium, it was too late for Aly. All things were uncertain. But when his fellow Stephan Schroeck got the icebreaker at the first half, he had a glimmer of hope, that unfortunately faded when the Al-azraq took their revenge and scored two goals. That second and final goal of Kuwait made his emotions quiver as he pitied over the fallen Ray Jonsson on the goal post. It was over for them.

But that hope never died down. He knew it was just the beginning of something better.

He reaped victorious runs on the 2011 Long Teng Cup in picturesque Kaohsiung National Stadium and the friendlies against Singapore and Nepal. The 4-0 Nepal run was explosive enough that he made a leap twice his height. (We know we have seen Aly jump like that already, and it sparks joy to our faces.)

All things went well until the unexpected happened.

When I first saw the look of the Kaya FC skipper after he fell down and crouched and groaned at the same Rizal pitch during their match with Diliman FC that Saturday afternoon, I was alarmed. That pain in his right leg must have been extreme for him to bear. It could be something worse.

And yes, the unexpected happened. He tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL).

Everyone was shocked and worried about Aly. Numerous well wishes were sent to his Facebook fan page and Twitter account. A lot of cheer-me-ups were given to this guy. But it will never hasten the reality that his injury will take half-a-year at least to heal.

Now his long, excruciating wait from the sidelines will bring a massive hole in both his club and the national team. With the upcoming 2012 AFC Challenge Cup finals in Nepal, it will be uncertain if Aly will be leading the team.

Says my fellow from the Usapang Football forums, aptly named "wiking":

Even if he is up and about just before the AFC CC finals, It's doubtful he will be match fit, but I'm hoping for a happy ending so even if he can play 20-25min a game would be great especially against a team that doesn't pressure well.
So far 5 months away we've got the locals(barring injuries in the UFL season): delRo, Sabio, Fernandez, Leonora, Unabia, Basa(capped), Barbaso(anyone else I failed to mention?). James Yh, but I'm hoping he stays at mid(coach!!!!)
Speculation 1: Maybe Oliver P, since he plays for an amateur and lower tiered(6th) team, same with Rob G(9th), might be able to come on down for the AFC games??? Yes Rob isn't that fast anymore but then again his speed was only exposed against a very very good team in Kuwait. We are not facing any team of that caliber in the AFC competition, plus his veteran presence, leadership and familiarity with the players and coaches should help. I dare say he could be a 'Captain' of the defense at the very least.
 Speculation 2: Dan 'the Man' Palami, surprised us with Carli and OP, could they surprise us again? There are still 5 more months to wait...
 The Bad: The Superliga starts its season in March 6. That concerns Jerry Lucena and Dennis Cagara folks. 2.Bundesliga(aka Stephan S and Rolan Mueller) will have games on going in March. Carli's, Tercera division will also be in league play at this time
 The Good??: The Icelandic premier league season is off in March and resumes in May. Ray Jonsson should be around. Rolan Mueller if he doesn't get to be promoted 2nd GK for MSV Duisburg should still be able to come. Looking at it through MSV's perspective, by him playing in the AFC should gain him valuable playing time without loaning him out(just putting a positive spin on things gents).
The NT is used to playing with a holding midfielder, that gives us 5 players on defense that should help overall. As the coach and Mr Palami has said, maybe borrowing a player for 1 or 2 games can help. If we can't have them for the whole duration but maybe against a 'stronger' team we can schedule them to come down.
 Your thoughts...
 add: If Jason de Jong doesn't put himself in coach W's doghouse again, he playing in the March '12 games should be a great possibility. He is playing for a youth team now(unless he gets promoted) so obviously playing in an international like this would be better competition for him than playing another youth team. His team should be happy for him to gain more experience this way. Again I'm just putting a positive spin on my  speculation.

We are hoping everything will be set in place while Aly won't be around.

Aly will be dearly missed. But then, he is after all El Capitan.

  KENNETH